Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
No, this is NOT noodles. But it’s a tie in that’s for sure. These are little surimi (fish) sausages to enjoy as a snack, flavored like Buldak Bokkeummyun. I’ve seen these all over recently in different ways – some packs call them ‘Kid’s Bong’ and they come in a variety of flavors. These sounded interesting! Couldn’t resist. Let’s take a look!
One of my favorite styles of curry would have to be green curry. It’s very different from the others – a kind of crisp and savory flavor rolled into one. This is really exciting to try – curry from Taiwan in collaboration with a company from Thailand. Very curious. Been waiting a couple weeks to hit this up, so let’s go!
This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!
This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!
This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘The rich and deep flavor of the soup is created with beef, onion, garlic, miso and other spices and seasonings which all keep a perfect balance together. topped with four kinds of ingredients including diced potatoes which are the hidden stars of this dish,’
Okay, alright. It’s another Buldak spicy thing and this time its not topokki and ramen, it’s just topokki. What’s exciting about this is that this is the export version. I’m usually not happy about getting export versions; I want the local versions; te ones that people in their respective countries find at the store. But what’s cool is that this is now available in the United States – and I’ve seen it here recently. This is original Buldak Bokkeummyun flavor – there’s also a Carbo version as well. For those of you who are asking ‘what’s a topokki?!’ here’s a little info from Wikipedia –
I usually try to review at least two varieties a day and yesterday I did the last two Ramen Hero varieties and it was a lot of fun. It’s pretty neat to be able to do up all the garnish that came with it – and the printed seaweed was really neat, too!
Two weeks. Two long weeks. I haven’t done a review in two weeks!! Our apartment got remodeled, plus I had a sinus infection that basically knocked out my sense of taste. Yeah – that wasn’t cool at all. But I’m back – back to walking, and today back to reviewing. The remodel is done and I’m enjoying my noodles once again!
I got an email asking if I was interested in trying overnight delivery ramen. Hey – why not, right? So, here we are! Ramen Hero is based in the Bay Area and serves a few surrounding states at the time of this post – check their site for current service area. You pick your ramen, pay, and they’ll overnight you a set of ingredients to make a bowl of ramen at home – including garnish! Not bad. Let’s give this one a try – they send four and since they’re perishable, I’m going to do them over the next couple days.
I often end up at 99 Ranch Market to pick up mung bean sprouts, other produce, and other things once every week or so. It’s a chain of Asian markets that started on the west coast but after looking at their site, they’ve popped up all over the United States – which is good – they’ve got lots of neat stuff.
This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘Pirikara means little bit spicym and Kenchin refers to a soup dish containing sauteed carrots, burdock root, and various vegetables, The soup is shoyu based kelp, bonito and shiitake mushroom broth, Yawataya Isogoro’s shichimi (7 spice) is one of the most popular shichimi seasonings in Japan, and it has a history of over 270 years in production. This udon introduces you to the special shichimi from Yawataya Isogoro and Kenchin soup. Especially, burdock and shiitake mushrooms in the cup taste delicious, we hope you enjoy this one of a kind udon.’
So mornings can suck sometimes. Waking up 2 hours late for example. With that, I better get a move on!
First off a big thanks to Chris G. for picking these up and sending them after his whirlwind trip around Europe! This one’s from Portugal which is pretty neat. What flavor is it? Caril translates to curry. Let’s give it a try!
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘This yakisoba just debuted from Myojo as their first umakara miso flavor. Umakara is a word mixture of umai (delicious) and karai (spicy). Kogashi ninniku means roasted garlic, so this yakisoba offers you irresistible tastes of kogashi ninniku with umakara miso flavor to fill your appetite! The kara miso paste (orange packet) add it as you like, you can maybe start adding little by little to see your preference of spiciness.”
So when Yamachan contacted me about a gluten free ramen, I was interested. Really? How does that work? Well, only one way to find out! One thing is these are konyak noodles. I’ve had thick gauge konyak and really disliked it. I have to admit though seeing the gauge of these I’ve got hope. Let’s check it out!
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘This super cup contains 1.5 times the normal amount of noodles! Okinawa has a few famous dishes but this one is the most unmistakable for anyone visiting the islands. Yummy chewy noodles in a slightly sweet and spicy dash is perfect for summer.”
Recently, I heard about a variety from Tseng that I guess has been around for a little while but I’d never heard of it. A lot of confusion for me about this one. The biggest issue is the variety itself – what the heck is spicy dolar anyway? Nothing I could find on Wikipedia or elsewhere. But dolar must be a pretty common concept because there’s a restaurant in Canada I saw in Richmond that mentions it – something like Dolar Hotpot or something. Well, let’s check it out!
I’ve mentioned a few times recently how much I’ve really been into Samyang Ramen in the last year or so. It’s really quite good – has a ham flavor, nice level of spiciness. It’s just got a good all around comfort food thing going on. Well, here’s the same thing – but now it’s got a cheese component. I’ll admit it – I like cheese. There. That feels better. Load off my mind. I usually add cheese to South Korean ramen, so let’s see how this one with a cheese component included goes.
Found this one at Walmart here in the area. Actually it was a Walmart Market – basically just groceries. Figured what the heck – it looks interesting. Shall we?
This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!
One of the very last varieties sent by the Butlers from their trip to Italy – thanks again! Yup – Italian yakisoba! Not something you’d expect, eh? Well here it is and I think we’ll just have to crack it open and take a look – let’s do it!
The spicy fire trend reaches everywhere – here’s one from MAMA of Thailand now! It’s nice to see honestly; people really seem to like it hot and that’s something for years that wasn’t really offered. Something ‘hot and spicy’ was often anything but. Let’s see if this one packs a punch!
When I used to drink (and I was very good at it, mind you), I would often try beers from different countries. One I remember from South Korea was Hite beer. It’s pretty good stuff – they had them in cans and bottles and then in these huge plastic jugs which I would get from time to time. This one’s a private label variety from Samyang Foods that came in a recent box from them. Very curious about this one – let’s give it a looksie…
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘Laksa, a spicy noodle soup dish of Singapore, joins Zenpop Ramen this month to try and win the Zenpop Ramen Cup. The creamy coconut flavor is spiced up with chili and coriander. How do you like this iconic Asian taste?’
Spicy stuff! So this one is the latest of the standard pillow pack varieties of the ‘fire noodle’ series. For those of you who don’t know what topokki is, here’s a little something from Wikipedia –
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘This ramen was first released by New Touch in 1985: It has stuck around so long because it is a delicious twist on the classic shoyu ramen. With extra negi (green onion) and just a touch of spicy (“pirikara in Japanese) this is a simple yet satisfying bowl of noodles.’
I’m starting to feel like with the sheer amount of products I’m finding lately that a list for vegetarian people might not be too far off. But we’ll see. A lot of companies (including MyKuali as you can see here) are getting on board with catering to the Vegetarian folks. Let’s see what the differences are going to be with this one.
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘Hard, thin, straight noodle fits excellently with thick and rich tonkotsu soup. In Japanese ramen shops, we can choose the hardness of the ramen noodles! Cook this for only one minute to experience the ‘barikata’ noodles!’
Alright so here’s one we found up in Canada at China Worlsd in Richmond, BC. That’s a really fascinating store with lots of products I’ve never seen before. But hey if you go there – bring cash if you’re coming from the US – and make sure it’s Canadian cash! Let’s get started.
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘There are mainly two kinds of yakisoba in Japan: sauce and salt flavors. This one is sauce yakisoba with a great mixture of browned garlic and Tamari shoyu, which is said to have a much thicker and milder taste than regular shoyu. Add the mayonnaise and stir them well to make the perfect yakisoba – universally loved in Japan.’
Here’s a spin on the fire noodle – a cook in bag noodle with rice. Definitely something different, that’s for sure! I mean, it’s one thing to copy something, but this isn’t that – it’s unique and hopefully really good – let’s find out!
The second of two varieties sent by Yonghai – thanks again! The first had a wide noodle, this one looks to be much thinner. Let’s give it a try!
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘If you want to enjoy festive food stalls of yakisoba, you can go to Asakusa or have Asakusa come to you! The fresh sizzling flavor of worcester sauce will whet your appetite and get your taste buds excited. The furikake seasoning contains nori seaweed and tempura pearls.’
Here’s something new from Taiwan! I really like spicy and definitely like shallot. Let’s check it out!
Here’s the last of the Sakurai Foods varieties I was recently sent. The other two were really great – especially the spicy one! Let’s see how a Vegan friendly tonkotsu tastes!
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘This mixes two kinds of miso – red miso and white miso – to make the soup savory. It also uses 2 typed of noodles which have different widths to reproduce the texture of chopped noodles of the ramen shop, Kurenai. There, you can choose the spiciness; Miso, Kurenai or Onikurenai. Kurenai is the middle spice level, so if you are not satisfied with tits spiciness, you should visit Kurenai in Tokyo to try Onikurenai.’
Made for Loblaw’s Canada, these Rooster varieties have been surprisingly good. In fact, despite having a very plain and generic look to them, they’ve all been really quite good. Will this bowl continue on in this way? Let’s find out!
